Days before stepping up to the start line of the Lean
Horse 100 ultramarathon, I was nervous.Although I had run this race 3 times, I was now running it differently.For the past 3 years I had
run it with my best-est running friend (David), but this year he wanted to run
it alone.That was fine, I understood he
wanted to see how he could push it, but it made me feel a little shaky.Could I do this alone?What if there was a mountain lion and I was
by myself?Who would encourage me when I
wanted to quit?Who would help me
finish?The weather was another
concern.Forecast for some parts on the
Mickelson Trail was 36 degrees.Who runs
in that kind of heat?I guess that would be me.... gulp….

David, Melissa's best-est running friend.

The
last bus for the Minnekahta trailhead left at 5:15amSaturday morning.There I was with my bagel, can of Coke (drink
of champions) and my handheld bottle filled with ice.On the 15 minute bus ride I sat with Loren
(he has run the race the previous 3 years) as well as David and Trevor Uhlir
(who I have also come to know through this race - Trevor DNFed last year and
was intent on finishing this one well)and David.Nervous chatter
filled the bus and I couldn't wait to get the waiting over with….I wanted to
START!When we got to the trailhead I
found SuYin (also a runner from Winnipeg).Sue was running her first 100 miler!I asked if she wanted to run with me at the start, she said she would
prefer to run at her own pace in the beginning.I was starting to feel quite unpopular - was I going to end up running
this whole thing alone?Anyway, 6am
finally rolled around and with a horn - we were off!

The
first section of the race was beautiful.The sun had started to rise on my right making the sky turn from dark to
orange and then daylight.The trail was
surrounded with small yellow sunflowers and there was a breeze blowing.There were many people around and I found
people to chat with as we all got into a running rhythm.I ran with Peter (a lawyer from Houston) for
awhile as well as Bobby (a white haired 60-something amazing ultra runner who
kicked my butt last year), Peter's wife Yen and David.Conversation was light and before we knew it
we were upon the first aid station - Cottonwood - 4.2 miles.Barely stopped at this one, just to refill my
ice and then kept going.We all kind of
stuck in a group with SuYin leap frogging us until we approached the next aid
station at 8.9 miles - Argyle.

At
Argyle the group broke up as some stayed at the aid station longer, some went
right on through.I stopped long enough
to again fill up my ice and grab a few items to eat (chips, grapes,
watermelon).This is where I ran into
Dawn.Possibly the nicest lady I have
ever met.Her and I easily conversed and
I adapted to her running of 5 and 2s (running 5 min and walking 2) - the
running was faster than I had been running, but with the walks it didn't seem
strenuous.All too soon she had to leave
because she was only doing the 50K and her turn around was there.She gave me a hug and wished me well.Almost right away was the next aid station -
Lime kiln at 12.5 miles.I evaluated how
I was feeling.It was just after 8 am -
for 2 hours and change I was doing well, no stomach upset, the one water bottle
was working well and the sun was just starting to get warm.I had some more watermelon and a Rice Krispie
cake and filled my bottle again with ice.Off again.

At
this point I was running alone.I would
pass some runners, talk with them briefly and then move on.I wasn't lonely but very much enjoying the
trail and the scenery.The sun kept
getting hotter and I was glad that I had planned (in my drop bag at the next
aid station) an extra water bottle and a towel that I was going to use to put ice
in and tie it around my neck.Pringle
was the next aid station at mile 16.3.I
took a little bit of time to get the items from my drop bag, reapply some
sunscreen, and use one of the few outhouses on the course.I drank a few small cups of ginger-ale, ate
another Rice Krispie cake, ate a few chips, took 2 salt tablets, filled my 2
hand-held bottles with ice, as well as my nifty ice bandana and was off
again.At this point I was averaging
almost 5 miles an hour and feeling pretty good.

Still
running alone, I debated listening to music.I wanted to use it only when I needed it.I decided I didn't need it yet, put my head
down and continued running.This section
out of Pringle was not pretty.It is
right beside the highway and is quite dusty.The sun was now beating down and there was absolutely NO shade.I hit a bit of a low here.I knew there was almost 7 miles to the next
aid station and then another section of 7 miles after that until I hit Harbach
Park (which contained my next drop bag).It was during this part of the race I went into reflecting mode.I decided for each10 minutes I ran, I would think about one
person who was important in my life and all of the things I loved about them
and why they were important to me.Of
course I started with my children and then moved on to my family and friends.I also reflected on some of my hero's, like
Terry Fox.Some of the things that came
to my mind were physical - how I loved the sprinkling of freckles across my son
Dryden's nose, how curly my middle daughter Amerlyn's hair was when she was a
toddler and how beautiful my eldest daughter Jensen is.Other
things included memories of the kind things people have done for me and their
thoughtfulness.I thought of those who
couldn't run and how lucky I was.I passed the next aid station, Carroll Creek -
22.9 miles, quickly got in and out and continued reflecting.Although this was a low time for me
physically - I felt good mentally.I was
overwhelmed with some of the thoughts and feelings I had.This run had taken on a more spiritual (if
you will) quality.I never really felt
alone because every ten minutes I had someone new on my mind and I almost felt
like they were running with me.

Mile
28.7 was Harbach Park.By now it was
full heat of the day.I was grateful for
the breeze that I was running against - otherwise this run with no shade would
have felt unbearable.I stopped at the
aid station to put on some body glide (I had it in my drop bag) and I was
shocked when I opened it - it was liquid!It actually poured out of the container!I had never seen body glide do that before!After I left the aid station (and taking many
more salt tablets) I took out my cell phone.Why did I bring a cell?I thought
I might need some company.I turned it
on and was absolutely dismayed that it said low battery!How could that be?It was on the charger all night!I guessed that it wasn't fully plugged in.Sadly, I concluded, I wasn't going to get support from home.I did send a text to my husband and luckily
it had enough power for a little time.My reflective text, "Man, is it hot out here!"to which Leigh replied, "Isn't there
some rule against running and texting?".I had a laugh and texted back that my phone was going to die but send me
some encouragement before it does.He
told me it was 36 degrees where I was……that's my husband….encouraging to a
fault!He did make up for it though and
told me that I've done this before, I'll do it again and to keep going.Then he told me Dryden (my little guy) says
"Hi".That did give me a lift.The heat was getting to me, so I decided that
I DID need my music.I turned it on and
immediately felt a little better.The
heat wasn't so distracting when my music was on.

From
Harbach to Crazy Horse there is an uphill grind that is, well, for lack of a better
word, HARD.It is one of the most
scenic parts though.Through this
section I just tried to run as much as I could and walk when I starting feeling
too tired.Bobby (the white haired super
ultra marathon guy who has run over 100 ultras) had told me earlier that, at
least in this race, you want to be feeling good at least until mile 50.I kept that in mind on this uphill and was
kind to myself when I got tired.Short
bursts of walking and running got me to the next aid station - Mountain - mile
33.7.Thankfully, this part had some
shade.I continued taking my salt
tablets (because honestly, my skin tasted like a potato chip), drinking
ginger-ale at the aid stations and eating whatever looked appetizing.Orville aid station at 39.4 was welcome, because
I knew it was all downhill until Hill City at mile 44.4.This was a good spot physically during the
race.I ran the downhill at a decent
clip.I also got to see a few of the
leaders at this time as they were on their way back.The neatest thing about ultra runners is they
are so encouraging.EVERYONE who passed
me on their way back told me "good job", "looking strong",
etc…I only saw men coming back and was
surprised to not see the lead women.

I checked
in at Hill City and found out that David (my best-est running buddy) was only
about 15 minutes ahead of me.That made
me feel good.I knew that he was having
a good race and I was having one too!At
this time, SuYin's husband (who was crewing for her) asked me if I needed
anything.Seeing the Coke machine in the
corner (the race was sponsored by Pepsi - so no Coke on the course) I asked him
if I could borrow $1.50 for a Coke.Laurie laughed and said it was on him and I got my first Coke on the
course.I was so happy (it is sad how
happy Coke makes me).At Hill City we
had to do a little out and back to make up some mileage.On the out and back I saw David!He
said he would wait for me at Hill City and we could run together for a
bit.I ran the out and back and passed a
few women.Back to Hill City to check
in.Laurie told me that David had went
on ahead and wanted me to catch up.I
thanked him again for the Coke (happiness in a can) and went on my way.

I knew this section would be
difficult.As much as I loved running
downhill to Hill City- in the back of
my mind I knew I'd have to run up it on the way back.It was a grind up to Orville mile 52.9 where
I met up with David but I survived it.From there on I had company!We
ran through Mountain 58.6 then to Harbach 63.6.At this point it was around 8pm and getting dark.We both sat down for awhile and had
volunteers help us get what we needed out of our drop bags.We needed to pick up our headlamps and I put
on a long sleeve shirt.I had a little
bit of chicken broth (which tasted awesome) and a half turkey sandwich.I was done before David and asked if he
wanted me to go and he could catch up.David is a faster runner than I and he agreed that was a good idea.I started off in the (now) dark with my
headlamp on.

It
took awhile for David to catch up to me and to my surprise, I wasn't feeling to
scared running in the dark with my little light.It must have been around 15-20 min before I
saw David (he said he had to change his contacts and almost fell into the creek
while attempting to wash his face in it).We continued on at a steady pace until we hit Carroll Creek - mile
69.4.I started to feel not as great as
I had been feeling….another rough patch.Got something to eat and drink (ginger-ale and Rice Krispie bar) and
kept going.On this next section (over 6
miles) I started getting slower and taking more walk breaks.At about 4.5 miles in, I told David that he
should go.I knew that if he could hold
up this pace, he could get his sub 24 belt buckle.He asked if I was sure, if I needed him he
would stay - but I said I'd be fine.I
felt like I was slowing him down at this point and I didn't want to do
that.With a fist pump he left and I
continued.A mile and a half later I
entered the Pringle Aid station (mile 76).I was feeling low (physically).I
looked at my watch and saw that it was just after midnight."Not bad" I thought - this is just
a little slower than I was last year….considering the heat this year compared
to the milder temps last year - I think I did okay.Mentally I thought I have under six hours to
do a marathon.Easy to do if you have
fresh legs and the terrain is flat…..but my conditions were not that.I had just run 76 miles and the upcoming
terrain was the hilliest part.Argyle
Road (at mile 84 ) had 12 miles of huge and NUMEROUS hills - so much bigger
than Garbage Hill.There was no way I
was going to make it under 24 hours.I
sat down beside a young guy who was lamenting about how he was on track for a
22 hour finish and his blisters had cost him his finish.I spoke with him awhile and had a grilled
cheese sandwich.I also took 3 salt caplets
- something I hadn't done since the sun went down.I thought maybe I was still losing salt and
should have still been taking them all along.After 10-15 minutes, I got up, told the station "#12 out" and
continued on my way.As I slowly ran and
power walked I started feeling better - maybe it was the salt caplets after
all.The next aid station was only 4
miles away and it didn't seem to take too much time to get there.

At
Lime Kiln (almost 80 miles) I sat down and asked them if I could have a hot
chocolate.The volunteer was awesome and
said sure, but he'd have to heat the water.We chit chatted (I was in no real hurry) but then he said that I was the
second female.I didn't understand, the
second female he saw in the last hour?What did he mean?No, he said I
was the second female on the course.Then I asked how long it was between me and the first female.He said, "Oh, not long…..maybe 15
min".I said I could never make
that up, it takes a lot of effort to make up 15 min in a race.He said, " You never know - with 20
miles left in an Ultra - 15 min could be easily made up".I got up and told him that maybe I didn't
want to wait for the hot chocolate and that maybe I should start running.He thought that was a good idea - he wished
me luck and off I went to the next aid station Argyle - 4 miles away.

To
my surprise, when I got to Argyle, I saw a woman in a chair with her crew
tending her feet.My mind started to
race - that's her!The first place
female…..I think?Then, to remove all
doubt, she said, "Congratulations, you are the first place female now -
take it home".I never got out of
an aid station so fast!

The
next 6 miles passed in a blur.I tried
to go as fast as I could on the large and rolling hills of Argyle road.They are much bigger than Garbage Hill and
very numerous.David told me he tried to
count them and only got to 12 before losing track.I kept looking behind me to see if anyone was
getting close.I saw a car that flashed
it's lights, but it was a few miles back.I wasn't sure if the leading ladies crew was looking for me (paranoia).I arrived at Morph aid station at 90
miles.I asked how many miles till the
next aid station while quickly filling my water bottles and grabbing a Rice Krispie cake.The aid guy said "six".I asked if the turn off to the campground was
quite visible (I was scared I was going to miss it) - he told me that I
couldn't.I got out of there and kept
running.If the aid station was 6 miles
away, I only had 5 more miles on Argyle and then one mile in the campground!

The
next five miles went fast until I started looking at my watch.There was only 6 miles to the aid station,
and I had already gone five.Paranoia
was back!I started slowing down and
looking to my right in the dark.I knew
it was a right turn into the campground.5.1 miles, 5.2 miles….where was it?5.3, 5.4I had no water left in
my bottles and my mouth felt like a carpet.At 5.6 miles I started to have a little freak out.I knew once I turned into the campground, it
was almost a mile to the aid station (or at least 3/4 of a mile).I slowed down to a walk thinking the further
I go, the further I am going to have to come back….I've missed the turn
off.Another part of my brain told me to
keep going.I thought briefly about
turning into someone's house and asking for directions but how could I do that
at 4 in the morning? Maybe I would
collapse from dehydration….I was so thirsty!I kept going - and to my relief,
at the bottom of a gigantic hill - the turn off!I couldn't have been more excited!My watch was over 6 miles but I didn't
care!

Unwisely (or perhaps for a sick joke) I had to
lift my leg to get over the campground fence.After 95+ miles…..it is no easy feat! I felt a little upset that the race director
would do that - then I thought, "are you a princess or something? Suck it up!"Going in I expected to see a light -
something to guide me through the campground.Just extremely tall grass with a snake like path through it.What could I do except follow the path?I was getting close to 7 miles on my Garmin
and I still couldn't see the aid station….another panic attack!I started to call out " is there any
one here?Where are you guys?"I thought I heard a faint voice - so I kept
calling and they called back.Not soon
enough did their voices get louder.I
could finally see the aid station!The
volunteers were great and offered me a chair.I declined and asked just for water (I had been out of water for - it
seemed like- forever).They told me that
I was the first lady they had seen out of the hundred milers.I thanked them and got out of there
quickly.I wanted to finish this thing!

Melissa BuddFirst Female23 hours, 37 minutes, 20 seconds

There
were a few more steep hills until I hit the downhill that goes into town.Once I hit pavement - I knew I was going to
finish this thing in under 24 hours.I
was tired but beyond excited!I ran as
much as I could and walked as little as possible - only when I got too
tired.With 3 miles to go I was at 5:06 am.Even if I did twenty minute miles - I should
still be able to come in under 24 (I'd have to hurry the last mile if I went
that slow though)!Gratefully I wound
through the town and then to the finish.I was so happy, soexcited!Finishing time was 23:37:20 (according to
final results).I didn't think I could
do this race on my own but I did!However, when I think about it more - I didn't really do it on my
own.First off there is my family - they
are so supportive - I couldn't have done it without them.There are also my running family - those
people whom I run with, who encourage me - even when they are not physically
with me.There were the aid station
people who were the BEST!Whatever I
asked, they brought - including encouraging words.There were my hero's, those people whose
actions have influenced me tremendously.Then there is also my (sometimes stupid) stubbornness.That part of me that doesn't want to
quit.I don't know where I get it from,
and I'm sure it is annoying sometimes but it helps me though.

The
next day, I got up at 5am and headed out for a 6 mile run (because I'm
stubbornly on this 2.75 year running streak).I followed the course backwards through town finding it hard to believe
that 24 hours previous I was running, I was finishing my journey here in Hot
Springs. Instead of going into the
campground I turned left and discovered a massive cemetery.I ran through a bit of it savouring the
sunrise and the gift of life that I still have.It was a beautiful moment.Although
at the beginning of the run I was trying to recapture how the previous day felt
- I came away with a new feeling, a new journey, a new thankfulness.Running back to the hotel I felt more grateful
than ever for the day.